


Chapter Two: Yugi (mind)

by Sk8erboi_Luke



Series: Amaya's Adventures [2]
Category: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod - Zac Brewer, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Card Games, Cringe, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 21:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18902785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sk8erboi_Luke/pseuds/Sk8erboi_Luke
Summary: Amaya sees a special on TV about a boy in Japan. She feels a special connection with him and wonders if he can help her defeat the evil spirit in her mind.





	1. Getting in the Gang

**Author's Note:**

> This part has some cringe-worthy moments. You have been warned. (I don't mean 'gross' cring-y, I mean 'cheesy' cring-y). It's like watching the DUB. Lol.
> 
> This is a long chapter. The others will be shorter. Hopefully.

Amaya had spent two days packing for Japan and creating a Duel Monsters deck. Duel Monsters is a card game, very popular in Japan, and the ‘King of Games’ (the best player) lives in Domino City, Japan. That’s where Amaya’s going. She saw a special on T.V. about him a few weeks ago and there was something about him that Amaya felt she could relate to. 

Amaya was only a block away from the airport when she heard someone call out to her. Amaya tuned to see a girl, not much older then her, running after her. “Is your name Amaya?” She called out, as she got closer. 

“Yeah. Why?” Amaya replied putting her guard up.

“You ordered some Duel Monsters cards, I’m here to deliver them.” She said as she pulled out a box with mail stamps and an address on it.

Amaya couldn’t remember ordering cards. She just went to her local store and bought them. Maybe the storeowner had ordered her some that she had been looking for. “Oh, thanks.” Amaya said slowly as she reached out for the box.

“Actually,” the girl said pulling the box away. “You know what would make this more fun?”

“What?” Amaya said starting to step back. There was something not quite right about this girl.

“If you dueled me for them. I haven’t gotten any action in months. If you win, you get your package. If I win… hmm… well I’ll just win the joy of winning.” She smiled and in that moment Amaya thought maybe the girl was actually friendly. Too many CSI episodes, Amaya thought.

“Sure, sounds fun.” Amaya replied with a smile and thought, this’ll give me a chance to test out my deck. 

“Great. My name is Tessa, Tessa Mere. My family owns that abandoned building over there. It’s the perfect place to duel.”

Amaya followed but kept her guard up. The duel started and it looked like they were pretty evenly matched. Amaya thought this game was really easy. The people on the card game channel made it look so hard. She also thought maybe Tessa was going easy on her, which meant that she really was a good person. Until Tessa drew a card that made her smile change and showed Amaya just how dark she was inside.  
Tessa laughed as she said, “I play the Seal of Orichalcos! Haha! Judging by that look I’d guess you’ve never seen this card before. This card means that the stakes of our duel just got raised!” Amaya chuckled slightly to herself at the mention of a stake, but quickly shut up as Tessa continued. “Now if you win, you live. If I win, I get your soul!”

Shit, Amaya thought. I’m gunna miss my flight. Amaya knew she should be more frightened, but if she had learned anything in the past year it’s that you never show your fear to people who are looking for it. More recently, she learned about the heart of the cards. She believed in her deck, but more then anything, she believed she could beat this psycho bully.

The duel picked up after that. Amaya was just staying afloat, hardly attacking, keeping her life points safe. She made a mental note to change her deck when this was done… if she won. It didn’t look good. Tessa had two powerful monsters on her field, and Amaya was running out of monsters to play in defense. 

Amaya played spell card after spell card to keep her monsters on the field as long as possible. But it wasn’t enough. Tessa attacked with her most powerful monster, forcing Amaya to use her last trap card to stop it, letting Tessa’s second monster attack taking away the rest of Amaya’s life points. 

Amaya dropped to her knees, too weak to stand, and waited for Tessa to take her soul. Then there was a horrible crunching sound. Amaya looked around, the building was crumbling around them. Amaya let her instincts take over and she turned and ran toward to door. Tessa called after her but a piece of ceiling came down between them and drowned out what she was saying. Amaya was almost out the door when everything went black. 

When Amaya opened her eyes, she was in the hospital. She looked beside her bed and saw Chester. Her best friend. She smiled and he smiled in return but his smile contained a hint of worry. Amaya thought about what happened and tried to move her arms and legs. One, two, three, four. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” Amaya was relieved. Having no soul would be bad, but she thought maybe having a broken leg would be worse. 

“How did I get here?” Amaya asked Chester as she remembered more of what happened. Chester held up a painting. The building that had collapsed, but it was standing in the picture. Chester had been painting the building when it collapsed. He must have seen Amaya in the doorway and brought her to the hospital.

Just then Vlad’s aunt Nelly walked in. “Thank Goodness you’re awake. We were getting worried, weren’t we Chester?” Chester nodded. “You’ve been unconscious for almost twenty-four hours.” She continued, “I hope next time you kids see a building that old you’ll think twice before going near it just for a painting.”

“What?” Amaya turned to Chester. Chester put his finger to his lips. “I mean, yes, Nelly. Won’t happen again. Thanks.” Nelly left the room and Amaya asked Chester again, “What was that about the picture?” 

Chester repeated the motion he gave to Nelly when he brought Amaya in. He pointed to the unfinished part of the building and then to Amaya. He told Nelly that he was painting Amaya next to this old building. Smart. “Did you find anyone else in the building when you pulled me out?” Before Chester could shake his head a voice entered the room.

“I thought I was the one who got into the deadly situations.” Vlad walked in slowly and gave Amaya a worried look. Even though Nelly already told him she was ready to go home. Amaya still looked pretty bad with all her scrapes and bruises.

“You can’t have all the fun.” Amaya said with a smile.

Vlad smiled too and relaxed a little. “Nelly said you could go home today, but she said you can stay and rest for another night if you need it.”

“Thanks.” Amaya could tell everyone was worried about her and she was really tired. “I think I’ll stay and sleep some more.”

Vlad and Chester breathed sighs of relief. Vlad noticed the bags by Amaya’s bed and frowned a little. “You still planning on leaving?”

Amaya nodded. She wasn’t going to get into that again. Vlad knew that she was leaving; her plans just hit a snag.

Vlad shook his head and snapped out of it. “When are you leaving again?”

“I donno, I have to book another flight. Maybe tomorrow.”

“If you want I can come with you this time. Make sure you get there.” Vlad gave a half smile.

“Yeah, sounds good.” Amaya smiled too.

Vlad’s uncle Otis drove Amaya and Vlad to the airport the next day. Amaya felt oddly safe travelling with two vampires, but the more she thought about it the more she wondered if either of them were hungry. She heard Otis chuckle and wanted to put something in her mind telling him to stay out, but instead she just clamped down on her thoughts.

At the airport, Vlad and Amaya said goodbye. “Call me when you land so I know you survived the flight.” They laughed.

“I will.” Then Amaya thanked Otis for the ride before leaving.

Amaya was enrolled in the local high school. She heard it was where the King of Games went. After her first day, she went to the game shop. She heard it belonged to the grandfather of the King of Games. 

Amaya was just outside the shop when she saw him. The King of Games; Yugi Moto. He looked shorter then he did on T.V. Amaya overheard him talking to his girl friend about seeing a soccer game. Amaya hid in the ally. She wasn’t sure why, but she knew she couldn’t just walk up to him and tell him why she was there. She needed to get him interested in knowing first. 

Not long after they passed her, she heard them talking to someone who claimed he could tell their fortune. Amaya knew he was a fake, but she heard Yugi say okay. Amaya ran around to the other end of the ally and watched Yugi hand this guy a chain he kept around his neck. Amaya felt instantly attached to the triangular pendant hanging from it and ran up the alley towards it. Amaya saw the guy flip the table over at Yugi and his friend. Amaya punched him in the ribs and he let go of the chain. Amaya grabbed it and tried to give it back to Yugi but the guy got up and hit her from behind. The guy ran away with the chain and Yugi ran after him leaving his friend to make sure Amaya was okay. 

The friend introduced herself as Téa. Amaya thanked her for helping her up. “No problem.” Téa said. “But I should go now. I have to find my other friends and help Yugi. Are you going to be okay?”

Amaya nodded. “Yup. I’m good. I have to go too… I have… homework. Good luck.”

“Thanks. You too.” Téa yelled over her shoulder with a smile as she ran off.

Over the next few days Amaya noticed Yugi and his friends got into trouble a lot. Great. She thought, another trouble magnet. That’s okay; I know what to do. Amaya kept her eyes open whenever she was around Yugi, looking for a way to help Yugi by dealing with a few trouble makers for him; but they all played duel monsters. After her bizarre duel with Tessa, Amaya wasn’t sure her deck was ready to just dive into another. So she decided to go a different rout.

During lunch Yugi and Joey were dueling for practice. Amaya slowly walked up to them. 

“Hey!” Téa said when she saw Amaya. “You’re the girl that helped us in the ally the other day.” 

Amaya nodded.

“Oh yeah!” Yugi said looking up. “Thanks for that.”

“No problem.” Amaya said with a smile. “I was wondering if you could help me learn to play duel monsters.” She said as she held up her deck.

“Absolutely!” Joey said as he grabbed another chair. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Amaya handed him her deck. Joey looked at her cards then handed them to Yugi. “Interesting cards.” Yugi said as he handed them back.

“Thanks.” Amaya said with a smile. They set up a game and went through the rules as they played. 

Yugi won, which didn’t surprise anyone, but he told Amaya that her deck did better then he thought it would. He gave her some tips on how to make it better and then invited her to come with them to his grandfather’s game shop after school. Amaya accepted.

After shopping at the game shop, the gang was walking Amaya home.

“Your deck is so badass now!” Joey said looking over the cards Amaya had just bought.

“Yeah, it’s going to be tough to beat now!” Yugi added. Then, a new voice spoke.

“We’ll see about that!” Everyone turned to see who the new voice was. 

“Tessa.” Amaya said in a harsh tone. “I thought you’d come back. What took you so long?”

On the side lines Joey asked Yugi, “Who is this girl?”

Yugi shook his head. “I don’t know. An old friend maybe?”

“I wanted to wait until you had friends so I could take a bigger prize when I beat you again!”

“Maybe not.” Yugi added. “That doesn’t sound very friendly.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Tristan said. “Hey Amaya, just who is this girl?”

“She’s nobody.” Amaya said turning to Tristan. “Just a speed bump on my road.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” Tessa said sounding annoyed. “I am a Soul Hunter, I posses the power to take your soul. The ONLY reason you escaped me last time was that a piece of the ceiling had destroyed my duel disk, causing the cards effect to disappear. Trust me, it will not! Happen again.”

“I don’t need it too! I can beat you fair and square.” Amaya said, full of confidence. 

Tessa smiled, that evil smile, and walked slowly toward Amaya. Amaya didn’t back down, she stood still facing Tessa straight on until she was standing right beside her. She whispered to Amaya, “Let’s see if you can keep up.” Then Tessa ran down the road. A heartbeat later, Amaya followed. 

Yugi called out after her, “You don’t need to do this!” But Amaya either didn’t hear him or she ignored him and kept going. 

“Come on guys!” Téa said as she started running after Amaya. “She might need our help.”

When Téa, Yugi, Joey, and Tristan got to the dueling arena Amaya and Tessa were all ready set up and starting the duel. They stood on the sidelines to watch. When, suddenly, chains came out of the wall and locked onto each of them by the ankle.

“What’s going on?” Amaya yelled across the playing field when she saw what had happened to her new friends.

“It seems the stakes of our last battle weren’t high enough for you, so this time our lives are not the only ones on the line.”

“How? Your card only affects the people playing.”

“That is true, however, the man who invented the card got the idea from a much bigger more powerful orichalcos circle… and we are all standing in it.”

Gasps escaped the bystanders. “Oh, no!” Téa said, “This isn’t good. How do we get out of this one?” she asked turning to Yugi.

“I’m not sure yet.” He answered, “But I am sure we’ll figure it out!”

“You don’t scare me.” Amaya said. “Let’s just do this.”

They started their duel, and at first it didn’t look so good for Amaya. Tessa had a lot of monsters right off the bat, and they worked together so well. Amaya could hardly summon two monsters. Lucky for her, her deck had a lot of great magic and trap cards that helped her hold on until she could summon her best monsters. 

Once Amaya had some good monsters on the field, things started to go her way. She got some good shots at Tessa’s life points, and got three monsters on the field, but Tessa came back hard. Amaya almost lost all her life points when she lost two of her monsters in one turn. Amaya fell to her knees. She was realizing that she might not win this duel… again. Tessa hadn’t played her orichalcos card yet, but if she couldn’t get her friends out of the building in time, they would all lose their souls.

“She’s not going to win this on her own.” Yugi said to himself. 

Then Amaya felt Yugi near her. She felt like he was helping her up. Amaya stood, but wasn’t sure why it felt so easy. Then she heard him speak to her. He said, “You can do this. You already know her strategy… use this card.” Amaya focused on one card in her hand, she had no idea how. She looked over at Yugi but his mouth wasn’t moving as he added, “You know it will win this duel.” Without questioning what had just happened, Amaya played the card, summoned a powerful monster, and destroyed Tessa’s life points.

“Alright Amaya!” Téa cheered.

“Way to go!” Joey added.

Tessa laughed, “Cheer while you can. This building will take your soul in exactly ten minutes!” She laughed again and she disappeared out of the room.

Amaya jumped off the podium to help unlock her friends. “How do we get these off?”

“I’ve been working on sharpening this nail…” Tristan said as he tried to pick his lock. “Got it!” He passed it to Joey. One by one they picked themselves free. 

They headed towards the front door. There was one room they had to pass through. Amaya stepped through the door way first, slowly. She motioned Yugi and Joey to go ahead and told them to go slow. When they hit the middle of the room an alarm went off once, and some of the floor tiles lit up in different sized rectangular shapes. Two under Yugi, three under Joey, two under Amaya, two to her left and two to her right. She quickly told Téa and Tristan to get on the other glowing tiles. When she looked towards the door again, Amaya noticed a glowing switch.

“I’ve seen this before.” Amaya said. “Walk where I tell you to.” They nodded. Amaya studied the floor before telling Téa to move one tile toward Yugi. Then Tristan moved two up. When she told Joey to move three toward Tristan, he protested.

“That’ll send me backwards. The door is over there.”

“I know that.” Amaya said getting a little annoyed. “We’re in a puzzle. You have to move so Yugi can move. Then I can get out and I’ll turn off the floor sensors so you can get out.” 

Joey looked at the switch by the door, and walked where Amaya had told him. Then Yugi moved. Amaya moved straight out of the puzzle and flicked the switch. The floor lights turned off, but then the alarm continued and a count down started. Ten, nine, eight… 

“Run!” Amaya shouted to her friends. They ran to the door as fast as they could, first Tristan. Six, Five. Then Joey. Four, three. Then Téa. Two. Yugi was last, because he’s short. Amaya reached for him. They locked hands, One, and she pulled him through the doorway.

What? Yugi thought to himself. As Amaya pulled him through the door, he thought he saw something in her. A kind of shadow. Maybe it was nothing, just the shock of barely making out of that room.

What? Amaya thought to herself as she pulled Yugi through the door. She thought she saw someone else inside Yugi. They looked similar, so Amaya wasn’t sure if it was just the stress of getting everyone out safe, but she kept the possibility in the back of her mind.

Everyone ran out of the building and didn’t stop running until they made it to Yugi’s house.

“So…” Joey spoke first. “Can anyone tell me what just happened?”

Tristan shook his head. “I’m not sure. I think Amaya won a duel, and then we were game pieces? Oh, and of course our lives were in danger. Who was that Tessa chick?”

Everyone looked at Amaya. She looked at the floor. “She found me when I was on my way to the airport. She never told me what she wanted… other then my soul. I don’t even know why.” She looked up. After a minute or two, Yugi spoke.

“Well, I’m pretty sure she escaped the building in time. I’m sure she knows we did too. She’ll be back.”

Amaya nodded.

“What are we going to do?” Téa asked. “We barely escaped that. I don’t think we’ll be able to do it again.”

“She’s right.” Joey said. “What can we do so we’re prepared to face her again?”

Amaya was confused, “We?” 

“Well, yeah.” Téa said. “We can’t let you deal with her by yourself now that we know how dangerous she is.”

Amaya looked at the floor and could feel her face go red. They cared. She never expected them to help her so quickly, and she certainly didn’t expect them to care about her that much.

Amaya joined their duels at lunchtime to improve her skills and Amaya taught them other games that she knew, like the puzzle that got them out of the building. 

“The goal is to get the red car out of the traffic.” She explained.

“Can you change what row the cars are in?” Joey asked reaching for the truck blocking the exit.

Amaya laughed and shook her head, “Can you pick up a truck that’s stopping traffic?”

“No.” Joey said with a frown and left the piece on the board. 

Yugi studied the board for a few minutes then moved a few of the pieces around and got the red car out. 

“How did you do that?” Joey asked, scratching his head.

Yugi smiled, “I don’t know, I just get it. I am King of Games, don’t forget.”

Joey and Amaya laughed, but Amaya thought she saw that Yugi look-a-like again for a second. No one else seemed to notice, so Amaya didn’t say anything.

Amaya was dueling Yugi in his grandpa’s game shop. They were alone, so she decided this was the right time to say something. 

“You know, your eyes change when you’re dueling.” She waited for his reaction. 

He looked a little relieved and simply said, “Yours do too.”

Amaya’s reaction wasn’t a calm as Yugi’s was, her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. “How do you mean?” She asked when she pulled herself together.

“Well, it’s only when you’re really into the duel. They get bigger and darker.”

“Funny.” Amaya said. “Yours get smaller… and I think the colour stays the same.” 

“Interesting.” But Yugi still didn’t look surprised. He looked like he already knew what Amaya was talking about.

“You already know.” Amaya said. Yugi looked at her and was quiet for a few minutes.

“Yeah.” He said softly as he looked down at his puzzle. “You can see him?” 

“Him? Maybe. I’ve seen someone who kinda looks like you, but just flashes.”

“Was the first time when we were escaping from the building?” He started to look shocked now.

“Yeah!” Amaya thought about why he might seem shocked now. “Did you see something… in me?” 

Yugi’s look said it all. They sat in silence for a while taking in what they had just learned about each other.

Amaya spoke first, “So whose turn is it?” She returned to her focus to the game.

Yugi still looked deep in thought but he answered. “Um… I think yours… You don’t want to talk about what we saw?”

Amaya thought about it for a minute. She felt Syrin beginning to surface. She shook her head. If she talked about him any more, he’d come out for sure; and who knows how long it’ll take to put him away again. But when she looked at Yugi, something snapped and she spilled. 

“I call him Syrin. I don’t actually know who, or what he is. I think he might be a spirit of some sort, but I have no idea how to get rid of him. He seems to be attached to me. I’ve tried everything I can think of but I can’t get him out. Every minute he’s in there, I can feel him poisoning my mind a little bit more.”

“What does he do that’s so bad?”

Memories flashed through Amaya’s mind. Whatever had made her talk was gone now so she shook her head and said to the floor, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Yugi could see it was really bothering Amaya so he dropped it and drew a card to start his turn.

“What about the guy I saw?” Amaya said softly while she thought up her next move. Syrin seemed to have disappeared which was weird, but Amaya was relieved so she didn’t think about him anymore.

“Well, I actually don’t know his name either.” Yugi said as he looked at his puzzle, “I call him Yami. I know that he is the spirit of an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh. He attached his spirit to this millennium puzzle.” He held up the puzzle. Amaya thought this was all very cool. 

“Is he nice?” She hadn’t meant to interrupt, but she was so interested in his story.

“Yes. Yes, of course. I mean, he’s got his aggressive streak, but he’s not like your Syrin.” Yugi waited to see if Amaya had any more questions. He wondered if he should let Yami answer them.

“How do you know he’s an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh? Do you talk to him?”

“My grandpa told me about him, he found this puzzle on one of his digs. And yeah, I do talk to him. We share a mind. Sometimes when we’re in a really tough duel, I let him take over.”

“That’s so cool.” Amaya loved that her and Yugi shared this. There was so much she wanted to ask him. She wanted to know what it was like to have a good spirit around. “So, you invite him in when you need his help?”

“Yup.” Yugi wanted to know everything about Amaya’s experience. It was great to finally talk about this with someone who understood. “I guess you don’t call on Syrin for help, do you?”

“No. Unfortunately he takes over when ever he pleases.” Amaya frowned slightly, but she refused to think about it. “Usually when I’m sleepy or tired. He leaves me alone as long as I don’t think about him. I think he’s trapped in my mind, and thinking about him wakes him up some how.”

Yugi frowned. “It sounds like Tessa is the least of your problems.”

“Yes. She is. In fact, she doesn’t even scare me. She’s just annoying because she keeps popping up everywhere. Anyway, My turn.” Amaya drew a card and played a monster.

Yugi studied the field, and studied his hand. He played one monster and attacked. “I win.” 

They cleaned up their cards and Yugi asked if Amaya was interested in meeting Yami. Amaya thought about it and nodded. She was going to need all the help she could get if Syrin got out.

The next day, Amaya walked with Yugi to a dueling arena. The whole way there they exchanged notes on what it was like sharing a mind with another spirit. Amaya shared more about what it was like to keep Syrin locked up, and what it was like when he took over. Yugi shared what it was like having a good spirit around. He told Amaya about their duel with Pegasus, about their mind shuffle strategy and how Yami won for Yugi. Amaya was so jealous. She could feel Syrin surfacing because she was thinking about all the things he’s done to tell Yugi. Amaya quickly got uncomfortable and didn’t add much to the conversation, trying to bury Syrin in her mind again. 

Once they got there, they started the duel. A few moves into it, Yugi said he wanted to meet Syrin. 

“Why would you want to do that?” Amaya was shocked, “After everything I’ve told you about him? And you know how hard I try to keep him locked up!”

“I know. That’s why I want you to let him out, just for a moment. I can help you. Just keep dueling, and let him out.”

Amaya decided to give him a try, but kept her head incase Syrin got out of control. She wasn’t about to let him take over in front of an audience. She drew a card and set a trap card. She could feel Syrin testing his boundaries; she didn’t stop him.

Yugi drew a card and played a monster. He attacked Amaya and the blast weakened her long enough for Syrin to surface. Amaya looked at Yugi and he understood. A second later Yugi seemed different. Then Amaya realized he let his other spirit take over too. The duel picked up pace and Amaya was surprised Syrin kept playing. She thought for sure he wouldn’t be interested. She thought he might realize he’s out and take off with Amaya’s body or something.

Amaya watched as Yami fought Syrin. She was amazed that Yami was actually beating Syrin. In the middle of the battle, Amaya started to think about Vlad and Chester. She had no idea why it hit her now, but she missed them. Distracted by the memories, Syrin pushed Amaya out and she feel behind him. Yugi saw this from behind Yami and told Yami he was dealing with all of Syrin now. Yami knew the stakes and wouldn’t let him win. 

Amaya opened her eyes and stood up. She couldn’t hear the sounds of the duel anymore. Did I pass out? She thought, is it over? She looked around. She was on someone’s front porch. She heard raised voices coming from inside. They paused for a minute and the front door opened. 

“Vlad?” Amaya felt sad, but she wasn’t sure why. She ran over and gave him a big hug. “I’ve missed you so much.” Then she saw Otis. And gave him a hug too. “I’m so glad you’re here, Otis. I’m glad Vlad has someone looking out for him.”

That’s when Vlad noticed that Amaya wasn’t really there. Sure he could see her and so could Otis, but she looked almost like a ghost.

“Amaya, how exactly did you get here?” Vlad could tell she didn’t realize she was ghost-like, and he didn’t want to alarm her.

“Well, last thing I remember, I was in Domino city with Yugi and… he was dueling Syrin. Syrin threw me out of my body and…” She looked at Otis. His expression was priceless. She smiled and looked back at Vlad. “Anyway, um. I don’t know how I got here.”

“Well, you should go back.” Vlad was worried that she may have a time limit.

Amaya felt extremely sad. She felt tears behind her eyes. “I don’t know how.”

So Vlad tried something he hadn’t thought of before. He called out to Yugi.

~~~

“Yugi?” Vlad concentrated his hardest. It was the longest distance he had attempted to contact anyone telepathically, and he didn’t even know the person he was trying to reach. “Yugi Moto, can you hear me?”

Yugi almost jumped at the sound of someone else’s voice in his head. He turned to Yami, “Did you hear that?”

“Yes, I did. Someone is in our mind.”

“My name is Vladimir Todd. I’m a friend of Amaya. She’s here with me… well part of her anyway. She needs help getting back and I have a feeling she needs to go back right now.”

Vlad turned to Amaya, “I need you to picture Yugi. Find him and see yourself going back.”

Amaya nodded. She gave Vlad and Otis one last look and thought loudly; I’ll be back soon. Thank you. Then she closed her eyes and disappeared.

“So.” Otis said when Amaya was gone. “Now we have ghosts in the picture?” Vlad smiled and explained that Amaya’s special. He told Otis about their connection since ninth grade and they thought maybe Otis could see her because he had tasted vampire blood. Their argument started up again.

~~~

Amaya tried to find Yugi in the darkness. It was different then finding Vlad, she figured Syrin’s push had sent her right through this the first time. Oh man, Syrin. Amaya wondered who won the duel. Was Syrin still there with her body? Did he take off? Did Yami win? Was Syrin gone for good? Then she heard Yugi calling for her.

She moved herself towards his voice. Then she felt a hand in hers. She squeezed it and opened her eyes. Yugi was leaning over her; he looked very worried. Amaya thought she could almost see tears. “What happened?” She asked as she sat up.

“Well, I saw Syrin throw you out of your body and then you passed right through the wall. Yami was going easy on him because he didn’t want to hurt you, but once you left your body he attacked Syrin with everything he had. Syrin disappeared and I waited for your spirit to come back.”

Amaya stood there for a minute. She searched lightly for Syrin and couldn’t find him anywhere. She turned to Yugi and hugged him. “Thank you.” She thought about Yami and hoped the message would get to him too.


	2. Battle City

Amaya improved on her dueling skills and had a lot of fun with her friends after Yami had scared Syrin away. Amaya felt so good, she didn’t want to leave. But she knew she would have to sooner or later.

“I think you maybe able to enter into Kiba’s dueling tournament.” Yugi said to Amaya, “It starts in a few days, what do you think Joey?”

“I think I better practice more if I’m going up against her.” He said as he set up his cards for another duel.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll just go to cheer. I have a feeling Tessa will be there and she can’t challenge me if I’m not in the tournament, right?”

Everyone agreed and was happy that she was still going with them. She dueled Joey once more, and won.

The tournament started, and everywhere they went there were people battling. Amaya noticed there were a lot of people dressed similar in big cloaks. 

Joey pointed to one of them, “That’s him Yugi! That’s the guy that stole my card!”

“Don’t worry Joey. I’ll get you back in this tournament.” Then Amaya saw Yami take over. She watched the duel and wondered if it was how the duel went between him and Syrin, but her thoughts were quickly interrupted when someone whispered in her ear.

“Why are you just watching? I know you have improved your dueling skills, let’s see you put them to the test.”

Amaya considered not turning around. It looked like Tessa wasn’t going away without her soul. She was beginning to be as much of a pain as Syrin. “Isn’t there someone else in this city that you can bother for their soul?”

When Tessa smiled, Amaya wanted to punch her in the face just to see if she had any other expression. “There is only one soul that matters.”

“Well, I hate to rain on your parade… but I’m not entered in this tournament. So you can’t duel me today.”

“Like I care.” Tessa was getting annoyed. Amaya thought maybe she’d settle for a fistfight. “I’m going to take your soul one way or another.” Tessa took a step towards Amaya. Amaya curled her hand into a fist; she wasn’t going to let Tessa hit her first.

“No.” Yugi said as he stepped between them. Except, it wasn’t Yugi, it was Yami. “You can duel me.”

Tessa’s laugh hadn’t changed at all, another thing Amaya wondered if she could change with a punch to the head. “Your boyfriend fight all your fights for you?”

Amaya didn’t even address the boyfriend jab. Tessa didn’t deserve a reaction for such a poor insult. 

“No. I don’t. Amaya is perfectly capable of fighting her own fights, but I am a registered duelist in this tournament and if you duel me, I’ll let you change the stakes.”

Tessa thought about it for a second. “Fine. If I win, I get Amaya’s soul and yours.”

“Very well, and if I win, you leave Domino City at once and drop this silly obsession with Amaya.”

“Fine.” Tessa says as they shook on it.

Amaya was worried for a minute when she heard Yami agree to put his life on the line with Amaya’s, but then she remembered that he had defeated Syrin over a week ago and she still couldn’t feel him in her mind. This was going to be quick.

If Téa were here, she’d be cheering. Amaya thought as the duel started up. She looked around. Téa hadn’t found them yet. She’s already missed Yugi duel once, and she might miss this second one. Amaya thought she better find them soon if she wanted to see Yugi duel at all.

It was a close duel, and for a second there, Amaya thought Yugi might lose. But Yugi wasn’t about to give up his title as King of Games to someone like Tessa. 

“Yay! You did it, Yugi! Way to go!” Joey cheered enough for Téa too. He seemed overjoyed that Yami saved two souls at once. Amaya still couldn’t believe someone she barely knew would do that for her. She tried to think of the words to express how much she appreciated what he just did for her, but all she could say was “Thanks”.

It looked like Yugi was going to take over again, but then Yami turned back to face Tessa. The look on his face had changed. He looked focused again, like he does in the middle of the duels. Amaya wondered where this came from, and why they didn’t just leave Tessa and continue with the tournament. 

Hey, Amaya wondered to herself, what is Yugi doing?

Yami stood over Tessa and looked down at her. “I won.” He said emotionlessly.

“I know.” She looked away from his feet and kept her head down. 

“You need to leave now.” Yami was still showing no emotion. 

Amaya was suddenly scared of Yami, even though he was on her side.

“I know. I’m going.” Tessa said, still not looking up. 

“No. You need to leave, now!” Yami suddenly held out his hand in front of her face. Amaya didn’t see anything happen between his hand and Tessa’s face, she wondered if anything was going to happen. Then Tessa screamed, a real scream.

“Yugi!” Amaya shouted. 

Yugi quickly took over, and put down his hand. Tessa stopped screaming and took one look at Yugi before running away.

“What just happened?” Joey said when Tessa was out of sight.

Yugi didn’t answer right away. He couldn’t believe what Yami almost did. He thought Yami had changed. Yugi hadn’t seen him act like that for almost a year. Maybe he hadn’t changed as much as Yugi thought he had.

“Yugi?” Amaya said, bringing him out of he thoughts, “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Yugi said, trying to shake it off. “I don’t know what happened.”

After another minute Joey spoke again, “Well, it’s over now, and Tessa was well enough to run away, so let’s get back to the tournament.”

Yugi wasn’t ready to duel again just yet, but he nodded and followed Joey until he found his own duel. 

On the sidelines, Amaya talked to Yugi.

“You did great, you know. Stopping him like that.”

Yugi looked at the ground. “I can’t imagine having to do that as much as you do. It is not easy. Not only that, I thought I could trust him now… what if I can’t?”

Amaya was quiet for a bit before she said, “Talk to him.” Yugi looked at her, but he knew he had to do it. If he was ever going to win this tournament, and help Yami find out who he is… help him. If Yami really hasn’t changed at all, should Yugi still help him?

Amaya could see the uncertainty in Yugi’s eyes. “It’ll be okay,” she encouraged, “It doesn’t sound like you need to be afraid of him, like I do Syrin.” Yugi thought Amaya could be right. “And I’ll be right here.” Amaya added. She smiled at Yugi and waited for him to return it.

“Okay.” Yugi said. 

Amaya watched him close his eyes before she looked ahead at Joey’s duel. There was something fishy about this duel though, Joey’s opponent claimed to have psychic abilities that told him all of Joey’s cards. Amaya watched the other kid closely, but he was good. If he was cheating, he wasn’t making any obvious signs like touching his ear as if he was listening to an earpiece, or watching someone behind Joey. 

Amaya knew that just because he wasn’t watching someone, didn’t mean that there wasn’t someone behind Joey telling him what cards Joey had. Amaya scanned the crowd behind them, but she couldn’t see anyone suspicious. Something on a rooftop caught her eye and she watched it until she could make out what it was. More kids were on the roof of a near by building and, from what Amaya could see, they had the same hair colour as the kid dueling Joey. It could just be possible that this kids brothers and sisters just wanted a good view of the duel, but then why would they be behind Joey’s side? 

Amaya wondered if she should tell Joey, but she didn’t want to distract him. She also thought he should win this one without her help. Joey wasn’t as dumb as everyone thought he was, she knew he could beat this kid, even if he cheated.

Amaya turned to check on Yugi, but he was gone. Amaya scanned the crowd, but she couldn’t see Yugi anywhere. Amaya heard Joey figure out that his opponent was cheating, and he was turning this duel around. Yugi needed her help more than Joey did at the moment. So she picked a direction, and started walking.

Where are you Yugi? Amaya followed her gut as she made her way through the crowd.

Amaya had almost gotten used to life without Syrin, so of course, once she was by herself, he reminded her that he was still there.

Amaya felt something between her legs. She knew there was nothing there, but her legs immediately stopped walking. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw some people staring at her. Without thinking, Amaya broke into a run and headed down the street. She didn’t know where she was going, but she knew if she stopped, Syrin would take over. 

With every step Amaya felt it getting harder to take the next one. She felt Syrin trying to tell her to run into a bathroom, or deep into an ally. He was strong this time. Sleeping for a week must have re-charged his strength. Amaya kept running. She wouldn’t stop until her legs gave out. 

People were a blur as she ran through the crowds. Amaya heard bits of conversation as well as the sounds of duels going on around her, but she didn’t dare stop to watch. She didn’t even lift her head as she ran by most of them. She hit the occasional shoulder of a stranger or stumble around someone’s feet, but nothing slowed her down. 

Amaya almost ran into someone trying to cross the street, but she spun herself around them before they touched. As she spun, Amaya tripped backwards over someone’s feet and rolled through the entrance of a near by tent.

Amaya held her head and felt around for any open wounds. She didn’t find any, only bruises, so she looked up to see where she was. A Dueling arena? I thought everyone was using those Duel Disks now.

“I noticed that you didn’t have a Duel Disk, so this is the only way.”

Tessa. 

“The only way to what?” Amaya asked, “I thought you were leaving the city, Tessa.”

“There’s no way I’m leaving without your soul!”

Amaya rolled her eyes as she stood, “I’m not going to duel you, so just get over it.” 

Amaya turned to leave, but the door was gone. 

“You don’t have a choice. If you want to leave, you’re going to have to duel, and don’t think that your boyfriend will be coming to save you this time. He’s tied up in his own duel right now.”

Yugi’s dueling? I hope he’s okay. I can’t let Tessa think I’m depending on him. I can take her myself.

“Why are you so obsessed with me? Just take someone else’s soul!”

“There isn’t anyone with a soul like yours. We need yours and yours alone!”

“Why? What do you need it for? And what makes mine so special?”

“Duel me and find out.”

Amaya looked at the wall were the door had been. She had fallen through a tent door, but the wall in front of her was steel. Something weird was going on. She looked back at Tessa, waiting for her on the podium. Amaya knew she had to beat her once and for all, and she had to prove that she could do it on her own. Amaya took her deck out of her pocket and stepped up onto her side of the arena. 

Tessa was just as cocky as ever; even though she knew Amaya was a better duelist now. She just didn’t know how much better. Amaya didn’t let on that she was any better at all. She kept her cool as she drew her cards. Her deck was working so much better for her now. 

Tessa played her Seal of Orichalcos without hesitation. Amaya felt her body tense up, but then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could win this and she knew it. 

Tessa slowly started to realize the Amaya was better than her now, but she kept fighting. It’s probably just a fluke. It’s just a good run; she’ll run out of good cards soon. Amaya found it much easier to keep her monsters on the field this time. She never had less than two on at any time, and that came in handy when she drew her most powerful monsters. 

Amaya sacrificed her only two monsters to bring out her big one. That’s when Tessa knew she was in trouble. Amaya used her monster to destroy one of the two Tessa had on the field. Tessa’s life points got cut in half. She tried to summon another one in its place, but Amaya was ready. Her trap card prevented it. 

On Amaya’s next turn, she destroyed Tessa’s last monster and took the rest of her life points. She took a deep breath and let it sink in that she won. 

“There. I beat you fair and square.”

“Yes. You did. It’s just too bad that it took you so long. You’re too late to save your friends.”

“I’m not falling for that.” Amaya could see the Seal starting to close in on Tessa. Soon she would be gone.

Just as Tessa was about to be taken, she smiled at Amaya. Wait. Are they really in trouble? Tessa’s soulless body fell and Amaya turned to the face the entrance to the tent. It wasn’t steel anymore.

Amaya ran out of the tent. She looked to her left and then to her right. I need to find my friends… but which way do I go? Her gut pulled her to the right, so she turned and ran around the tent. She followed the road until she hit a dead end. Amaya saw the ocean up ahead. She ran to the dock. Once she was there, she looked to either side. When she looked to her right, She saw a duel going on over open water with an anchor hanging between them. That looks intense.

As Amaya got closer she realized She knew who was dueling. Yugi? Joey? Amaya stopped when she reached the other spectators. Kiba, Mokuba, Tristan, Duke, Joey’s sister and Mai. 

“What’s going on?” Amaya asked with panic in her voice. “Why are Joey and Yugi dueling each other?”

“Joey’s being possessed.” Explained Tristan. “It’s that Marik guy. He’s got Joey and Téa.”

“Where’s Téa?” 

Mai pointed to the side where there was a cargo container hanging over someone sitting in a chair.

“Oh, no.” Amaya said under her breath. “How are we going to save her?”

“We can’t.” She explained. “If any of us interfere, they’re going to drop that thing on her.”

Amaya watched in horror, Yugi and Joey shouldn’t be dueling each other. Yugi started walking over to Joey’s side of the dock. He was holding out his puzzle. Yugi, what are you doing? He put it over Joey’s head, and then went back to his side. What? Why would you do that? Yugi, what’s going on?

Suddenly the anchor that was hanging between them dropped, pulling them both down into the water.

“Yugi! Joey!” Kiba and Mai went to save Téa while the rest of them ran to the edge of the dock. Joey’s sister, Serenity, was the first one to jump in. Yugi rose to the surface. Tristan and Duke pulled him out. Then Serenity came up holding Joey. Once everyone was safe again, they left the docks. Yugi, Joey and Mai had collected enough locater cards to enter the finals so they all headed to the final dueling site.

It was on a blimp. The finalists were Yugi, Joey, Mai, Kiba, Marik, Bakura, Ishizu and someone named Namu.


	3. I don't want to end up like Marik

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amaya has a crisis but her friends are there for her.

Everyone was on edge when the blimp took off. It was the finals, and now Marik was stuck on the same blimp with them. No one knew what to expect. They got the order of the duels that would take place tomorrow. Everyone went to their rooms to get some rest. Some prepared for their duels, some slept, but Amaya wasn’t doing either. Syrin may have let her go, but he didn’t leave. 

Amaya lay in her bed, tossing and turning, when she felt herself stop moving she knew what was coming. She didn’t think about it. She pushed herself out of bed and left her room. The lights were on in the hall, making her feel better. She walked down the hall until she came to a room that belonged to some who could put her mind at ease for the night. 

Amaya stopped in front of the door. She wondered if he would be awake. Maybe he was preparing for his big day tomorrow. She leaned with her back against the wall beside the door and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. Then she felt Syrin again. She immediately knocked on the door, but quietly. 

“Yugi?” She whispered through the door. “You awake?”

There was silence from the other side. Amaya’s heart sank. If he was asleep, she might have to go back to her room and deal with it on her own.

Then the door opened. Amaya looked up to see Yugi rubbing his eyes.

“Amaya?”

“Sorry.” She said, standing up. “Were you asleep?”

“No,” He yawned. “Just getting my deck together, what’s up?”

“Um…” Amaya was about to say ‘nothing’ but then she remembered that Yugi would understand if she told him the truth.

“Oh, is it him? Syrin?” Yugi seemed to understand anyway.

Amaya nodded. Yugi opened his door further and stepped aside so Amaya could walk in. She sat on the couch.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. What about you? Did you talk to, Yami? How did it go?”

“Yeah,” Yugi took a seat on the chair facing Amaya, “He seemed just as shaken as I did. He didn’t understand why he did it either. He said it was like something was making him angry, but he didn’t know what.”

“Do you believe him?”

“I don’t know. I’d like to, and I’m definitely going to need his help in the finals.”

“Then, I would. I’m sorry, I’m just used to not trusting anything Syrin says to me. Yami has been helping you, hasn’t he? I don’t see why he would stop now. He still needs you to help him, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Then I wouldn’t worry about it. He probably feels as bad as you do, maybe even worse. I’d give him another chance.”

“Maybe you’re right. Okay, I will.” Yugi smiled at her.

“Good.” Amaya smiled back. “So, are you ready for tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Yugi said, still smiling. “I think I am.” Amaya was happy for him. She wished she could fix things with Syrin that easily. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Yugi asked her.

“Yeah, I just can’t let him have me alone, but if you want to get some rest now, I can leave…”

“No, I don’t want you to be alone. You can sleep here tonight.”

“Thanks, Yugi. I can take the couch, you’ll need the bed.”

“Are you sure?”

Amaya nodded.

“Okay.” Yugi stood up and walked over to the bed. “Good night.” He said as he turned out the light.

“Good night.” Amaya said as she pulled a blanket over herself.

Syrin invaded her dreams that night, but Amaya wasn’t about to let him do more than that.

When it was time for the tournament to start, Yugi and Amaya left the room to join the others. They were all waiting for them at the elevator. 

“Did you sleep in there all night?” Téa asked. “I thought you had your own room.”

“Yeah,” Amaya replied nervously, she knew how that sounded. “I just got lonely and Yugi let me sleep on his couch.”

“Well, if you want, I can share your room with you. Tristan and Duke were just saying how crowded it was in their room.”

“Sure, that’d be great. Thanks, Téa.”

“Yeah, thanks, Téa. Now I can move out of Dukes smelly room.” 

“Hey! Who said you get her room?”

“You would only stink it up.”

“Okay, guys, settle down. Who’s ready to watch some duels?” Joey said excitedly.

“Yeah, let’s go!” Téa answered. The gang got in the elevator and made their way to the arena. 

The first duel was between Yugi and Bakura. It looked like a struggle, but Yugi came out on top. The strain from the duel caused Bakura to be bedridden. Kiba had a medical team looking after him.

That night, as Amaya was writing a letter to her friends back home, someone knocked on her door. When she opened it, Téa was standing there in her pajamas holding her pillow with a smile on her face.

“Whose really for a girls night?”

Amaya smiled. “Girls night sounds great.”

They sat on the bed and Téa braided Amaya’s hair while Amaya finished her letter.

“Who are you writing to?”

“This one is for Chester.” Amaya explained. “He’s my best friend, and I’ve been thinking about him a lot, so I thought I’d tell him about the tournament.”

“Is Chester like a boyfriend?”

“No, he’s a boy, and he’s my friend, but no. We’ve never dated. We don’t have that kind of relationship. We just make great friends.”

“I get that. Joey, Tristan and Yugi are like my brothers.”

“You guys have such a great friendship. I still can’t get over how much you guys do for each other, and how much you trust each other.”

“I know, sometimes I can’t believe it myself, but I would trust those boys with my life. And your hair is done. What do you think?” 

Amaya ran her hand down her hair. “It feels great, nice job! Your turn!”

“Okay.”

Téa and Amaya switched places on the bed. 

“I don’t think my hair is long enough to braid…”

“That’s okay, I’m doing something else… I’ll need all your hair ties.”

“Can I ask why you were in Yugi’s room last night?”

“Nothing happened between us, if that’s what you mean.”

“No, that’s not it. You said you were lonely, but I don’t think that’s all…”

“It is, really. I told you I’ve been thinking of my friends back home recently, I just got a little home sick.”

“You can tell me, you know.”

No, I really can’t. Amaya thought. 

“There’s nothing to tell, really. And you’re done. What do you think?”

Téa felt the hundreds of hair ties in her hair. She laughed. “It’s great. I love it.”

“I don’t expect you to sleep in it, obviously, so feel free to take it out.”

Amaya slept without any interruptions. 

The next duel was between Joey and Marik. Joey won and it turned out he wasn’t dueling the real Marik. Joey was actually dueling Marik’s servant Odion. The real Marik was Namu.

Mai was chosen for the next duel. Her opponent was Marik. Before he pasted out, Odion had warned them about Marik’s dark side that he had help keep hidden for years. Now that Odion was gone, Marik’s dark side was strong and Mai ended up forgetting all of her friends.

Ishizu, Marik’s sister, came out to duel Kiba. Kiba won. After that, Ishizu explained more about Marik and his dark side. Amaya got more and more scared as she explained. I kind of have a dark side, she thought, I wonder if Syrin will still be poisoning my mind in thirty years. By the end of it, Amaya had tears in her eyes. She didn’t want everyone to see her cry so she ran back to her room. 

Amaya sat on her bed and held her pillow in her lap as she wrapped her body around it. Syrin was prying at her mind. That made her think about it even more. If she could never get him out, she would have to deal with him like this forever. She could feel Syrin taking control of her body. Amaya didn’t want to think about it, but she knew that would be as bad as letting him take over. 

Then there was a knock on her door. Amaya wiped her eyes and tried to lock Syrin back up. She sat on the edge of her bed, debating whether to get up. She wasn’t really in the mood to talk to anyone, but she wanted to see who it was. 

When she got to the door, Amaya hesitated. She stopped before she opened it and asked, “Who is it?”

They didn’t answer right away. 

“It’s Téa.” They finally said. “Can I come in?”

Amaya opened the door.

“Hey.” Téa said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I…” Téa held up a hand.

“You don’t need to tell me.” Amaya felt a weight lift off her shoulders. “I just need to know if you’re okay.”

Amaya felt the tears coming back. She smiled and nodded. “I’m getting there.” She said. The she stepped aside, “did you still want to come in?”

Téa shook her head again, “No, I think you should come back with me. Everyone is in Joey’s room celebrating the end of the semi-finals. You should come. I know you’re feeling home sick, maybe a party will take your mind off things.”

Amaya wasn’t sure being around everyone would be a good thing, but she knew Téa was probably right. She followed Téa down to Joey’s room. They could hear the boys even before they opened the door. 

The music blasted through the door when they opened it. Téa walked over to Tristan with her hands over her ears. She turned down the volume and took control of the tunes shewing Tristan away. Joey was busy keeping a balloon off the ground. Amaya saw Yugi sitting on the couch, blowing up more balloons, so she walked over and sat across from him. 

“Hey, you came.” He said when he saw her.

“Yeah. Téa convinced me it would be a good idea.” Amaya rolled her eyes and then smiled.

“I know why you left, and I understand. Téa is right; you just need friends right now. Like how Odion kept Marik from his dark side. So, just stay with us and I’m sure it’ll help.”

“Yeah, thanks Yugi. I know. It’s just… hard.”

“Do you guys wanna play Duel Monsters?” Joey jumped towards the coffee table between Yugi and Amaya.

Amaya shook her head, “You’re celebrating the fact that you’ve made it to the finals in a Duel Monsters tournament… and you wanna play more?”

“Well, yeah, what else are we gunna do to celebrate?”

“Come on dude, give it a rest.” Tristan came by and put his arm around Joey. “Just relax and enjoy the quiet time. Besides, it’s not like you can play Yugi anyway, you might be facing him in the finals… isn’t that like cheating?” 

“Oh yeah… Amaya could play though.” Joey turned to face her. “Do you wanna?”

Amaya thought about it.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Téa came over to the table. “You have been playing this whole tournament, Amaya hasn’t played since before it began, it wouldn’t be fair.”

“Fine then, you can play with her. I’ll take on both of you.” 

Tristan put a hand on Joey’s shoulder. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that man, Téa and Amaya have both beat you one on one… they’d strike you down in record time if they teamed up.” Téa and Amaya smiled at each other in agreement. “I will join you and together we will make a worthy opponent!”

The four of them got their decks out and played. The girls kept their cool and played well together. The boys on the other hand, were all over the place and constantly on the offensive, even though it backfired every time. It didn’t take long for the girls to win. Then everyone went back to their rooms. 

The next thing Amaya knew, she was standing on a platform surrounded by staircases and doors. Am I dreaming? She thought. She couldn’t remember how she got there.

“Amaya? How did you get here?”

Amaya spun around to face the voice. It was Yugi. No, it was the other one. The Pharaoh.

“I… Don’t know…” She stammered. “Where am I?” She asked as she looked around at the staircases that surrounded her. Most of them didn’t even lead anywhere.

“You don’t even know where you are?”

“No… am I dreaming? What is this place?”

The Pharaoh was just as confused as Amaya. He tried to figure out how she could of gotten here at all, whether she wanted to or not. 

“This room is the manifestation of my soul. As Yugi’s told you, we share a mind. Right now you are in my half of his mind.”

Amaya nodded slowly. “So, why does it look like this? All confusing and stuff.”

“I’m still trying to figure out who I was before Yugi solved the millennium puzzle. I don’t even know my name.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Didn’t Yugi tell you?”

“Well, he said he didn’t know your name… I just thought maybe you didn’t tell him, or you didn’t want him to know it.”

“Why would I keep that from him?”

“I don’t know, why would Syrin keep his from me?”

The Pharaoh was quiet for a bit before he spoke again. “Amaya, I know you’re afraid of him, and for good reason, but I’m not the same as him.”

“I know you’re not the same.” Amaya said quickly, but then she remembered Tessa. “What happened with Tessa?”

“Tessa?”

“Yeah, you dueled her for both of us and, thanks by the way, but afterwards something happened and I think she got hurt.”

The Pharaoh closed his eyes for a moment and hung his head.

“It really scared Yugi.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I don’t even fully understand what happened. I lost control of my anger and I don’t even know what over.”

“And how do you know it won’t happen again? Next time Yugi may not be able to stop you in time. What if Yugi is the one that gets hurt? Doesn’t that bother you?” Amaya was getting herself worked up.

“Of course it bothers me.” The Pharaoh kept his cool. He knew Amaya was upset, and him getting upset wouldn’t fix anything. “Yugi and I have been through so much together, and I’m still counting on his help to figure out my past…”

“I’m not sure he should help you.” Amaya muttered. The Pharaoh gave her a questioning look so she continued. “Why should he help you when you could loose control at any time and end up hurting him. I’m sure he’s grateful for all the tournament victories, but it doesn’t sound worth it.”

“Yugi has been helping me too. Since I’ve woken up here, he’s helped me a great deal with controlling my anger. He’s shown me a different way to duel. You may not believe it, but I used to be a lot worse. I know it’s no excuse, but I’m sure, with his help, I will not use it to hurt anyone again.”

Amaya was glad to hear that. He really was different than Syrin.

“And I only help him win these tournaments because it’s the only way to get closer to figuring out my past.”

Amaya smiled. “I believe you.” The Pharaoh relaxed some. “You really are different than Syrin.” 

“Thank you.” He said. He was relieved to know that she didn’t think of him as someone as bad as Syrin. “About him,” Amaya braced herself, she didn’t know this was going to turn into ‘Syrin talk’. “I’ve never encountered anything like him before. I can’t tell you how to get him out, or how to fight him off. I’m sorry.”

Amaya shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s okay. After you beat him that one time before the tournament, I didn’t feel him again for a few weeks. It was the longest I had ever gone without him and it was great.”

“But he’s back now…”

“And even if you did it again, he’d be back in another two weeks. I need something more permanent. I don’t want to bother you guys every time he comes back, but I also don’t want to end up like… Marik.” Amaya paused before his name because the thought of it sent shivers down her spine. 

“I don’t think you’ll end up like Marik.”

“No, we won’t let you.”

The Pharaoh and Amaya both turned at the sound of Yugi’s voice.

“Yugi?” Amaya didn’t expect to see him here.

“What are you doing here?” The Pharaoh asked.

“My mind is right next door, remember? I heard you guys yelling.”

“Oh, sorry.” Amaya said, looking at the floor. She didn’t know Yugi could hear that.

“It’s okay.” He said. “I’m glad I heard you. I would hate to have missed this whole meeting… how did you get in here anyways?”

Amaya threw her palms up beside her and shook her head. “I have no idea. I just remember going back to the room with Téa and now here I am.”

“Didn’t this happen before? When we were dueling Syrin, you disappeared for a while…”

“Oh yeah! I ended up at Vlad’s place… but I wasn’t really there… Why does this keep happening to me?”

“I don’t know… It’s like your mind can travel to other places.”

“Well that sounds cool, but I can’t control it. What if it happens again?” As soon as Amaya asked, she wished she hadn’t. She knew no one would know what she’s going through.

“I don’t know.”

Amaya shook her head. “No, I know you don’t. It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.” Then something occurred to her. “Wait, are we in the Puzzle right now?” She looked around again. The stairs and doors were the same colour as the puzzle.

“Yes, in a way, why?” The Pharaoh answered. 

“Ever since I first saw you, I’ve felt a connection with it. Like I was being pulled to it… could that be what happened?”

Yugi and The Pharaoh exchanged looks.

“Maybe,” Yugi said, “but why would you have a connection with the puzzle?”

“I don’t know, why am I the only one that can tell when you two switch during a duel?”

“That’s a good point.” Yugi thought about it. “Maybe it’s because you have some experience with spirits, so you believe in it more than everyone else.”

“I think you’re right. I felt like I needed to talk to you guys to help me understand what’s going on with me.”

“And? Did it work?” Yugi asked.

Amaya looked from Yugi to The Pharaoh and smiled. “Yes. I think it did. Even if I don’t know anymore about who he is, I feel much better about having to deal with it. Thank you.”

They smiled back at her.

“You’re welcome.” The Pharaoh said.

“Any time.” Yugi added.

When Amaya woke up, she noticed that the room seemed a little bit too dark. She turned to look out the window when she saw Téa wasn’t there. When Amaya looked out the window and she saw a steel wall. We’ve landed? Amaya jumped out of bed. I hope I’m not missing any of the finals! She ran into the hall and looked for any sign of where her friends went. 

She headed towards the exit but Marik stepped out of the corridor cutting in front of her. Amaya froze in fear. Marik looked directly at her. Amaya couldn’t move. It was his evil side, she was sure. She wasn’t sure if she should run away or if she was safe because they weren’t actually dueling. Marik turned back towards the exit and kept walking. Amaya let herself relax.

Someone opened the door beside her and Amaya jumped into the air.

“Amaya?” It was Ishizu. “What are you doing here?” 

Amaya tried to catch her breath. “What do you mean? Where is everyone? I just woke up, I’m trying to find them.”

“Well, you won’t find them in here.” She explained. “Someone hacked the blimp controls and we’re stuck here until Kiba and Yugi defeat someone named Noah. Everyone else went with them, I thought you did too.”

Amaya shook her head. “I had no idea. Why wouldn’t they tell me?”

“From what I understand, it all happened rather fast.”

“Yeah, of course.” Amaya said, “It’s no big deal. Thanks for letting me know.” 

Amaya left Ishizu and tried to remember who else would be here. There was Marik and Ishizu. Mai, Odion, and Bakura were all in comas. Amaya checked the rooms for her friends. Joey and Serenity, no one there. Tristan and Duke, empty. She stopped outside Yugi’s door, but then she remembered Ishizu said he left. Amaya even tried looking for Mokuba. The only other people she saw were Kiba’s employees. 

By the time Amaya walked all the way around the blimp Marik came back in through the door. Amaya quickly hid in her room. She didn’t want to face him again incase he put her in a coma next. Amaya sat on her bed and looked out the window. She missed her friends. She wondered what they were doing right now. 

Then the blimp started to move. Amaya looked out the window and saw they were rising. Then she peeked outside her door. She quickly looked for any signs of Marik before stepping out. As soon as she was outside her room she heard voices. They’re back! Amaya ran to the door to find Duke, Tristan, Serenity, Téa, Mokuba, Joey and Kiba. Where’s Yugi?

“Come on Yugi!” She heard Joey yell outside the blimp.

Then Kiba stepped inside followed by Yugi. Amaya’s body relaxed and she was so happy to see her friends again. 

“What happened you guys?” Amaya asked when they all got inside. Mokuba and Kiba left, but Amaya wasn’t talking to them.

“Amaya!” Téa ran over and gave her a hug. “I was so worried about you.”

“Me? What about you guys, I had no idea where you where. Ishizu said something about you guys fighting someone named Noah?”

“Yeah, he turned out to be Kiba’s step brother, but he wasn’t the only one there. There were these old guys who called themselves ‘The Big Five’. I had to duel one of them that was obsessed with penguins on a block of ice. I almost froze to death.”

“Sounds like you got this story covered, Téa. I’m going to go pass out on my bed.” Tristan said walking passed.

“Same here.” Duke followed him.

“We should go too.” Joey said putting his arm around Serenity.

“You’re probably tired too.” Amaya said looking at Yugi. He nodded. “That’s okay, Téa can tell me what happened, I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Thanks.” Yugi said as he walked passed her towards his room. 

Téa told Amaya about everything that happened as they walked to their room. Once they were done they were sitting on the bed.

“You must be tired too. You guys went through a lot.”

“Yeah, it really took a lot out of all of us.”

“Then you should have a nap, I’m guessing we’re back on track to the final dueling site. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

“Thanks, Amaya.” Téa put her head down and fell straight to sleep. Amaya decided to leave the room and let her sleep.

Amaya sat in the kitchen and looked out the window. She watched the scenery and let her mind wonder. She thought about the battle that her friends just fought without her. She started to think that she should be moving on. She didn’t want to leave yet, but she knew she’d have to soon. Yugi couldn’t help her anymore then he already had. She enjoyed his company, but he had so much going on that she knew she’d just be in the way.


	4. The Finals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle City Finals are here and Amaya has one last adventure with her new friends.

Amaya saw the island where they were holding the finals and by the time they started their descent, she had convinced herself that this would be her last journey with Yugi. Once they got home, she’d go looking for someone else that might be able to help her.

To determine who would duel whom in the finals, Kiba, Yuig, Marik, and Joey had a four-way duel. Joey and Marik would play each other first, then Kiba and Yugi. Joey wanted to beat Marik to save Mai, but Marik turned their game into a shadow game causing Joey to lose his strength every time he lost a monster. Marik played his Egyptian God card, Winged Dragon of Ra, and Joey should have lost. To everyone’s surprise, he stayed standing long enough to play another monster, but he didn’t have enough energy and collapsed before he could attack.

Yugi and Kiba dueled next. Most of the group stayed with Joey incase he woke up, but Amaya thought someone should be with Yugi to cheer him on. Amaya watched in amazement as Yugi and Kiba fought. She was so focused on the duel she almost didn’t see Marik come out to watch as well. She took a few steps away from him as if it would help. Marik didn’t even look at her. She knew he wasn’t interested in her so she turned her attention back to the duel.

Kiba and Yugi both summoned their Egyptian God cards. Amaya’s mouth hung open as they attacked. A bright light covered the field Amaya had to close her eyes. When it disappeared she noticed both Kiba and Yugi seemed different. Like something happened other than their monsters destroying each other. The duel continued and it wasn’t looking too good for Yugi. 

“Come on Yugi!” Amaya yelled. “You can do it!”

Amaya was surprised how long this duel had gone on for. They had gone back and forth so many times, but the end was near. Amaya knew Yugi needed to win to go on and defeat Marik.

It looked like Yugi was going to lose. Kiba launched his last attack and Amaya saw Joey and the rest of the gang run through the door. Amaya hoped they weren’t about to see Yugi lose. Luckily Yugi pulled through with the help of Joey’s Red Eye’s Black Dragon and when he turned around, he saw Joey. Amaya had never seen him look so happy.

Joey challenged Kiba to a duel to see who would get third place. Amaya saw Téa walk away, she knew it wasn’t like her to leave when one of her friends were dueling. 

“She’s probably just going to the bathroom or something.” Tristan said. Amaya wasn’t so sure. She waited a few minutes but when she didn’t come back, she went looking for her. 

Amaya went to the blimp first. Before she got there, she ran into Ishizu.

“Hey Ishizu, did you see Téa come by here?”

“Actually, she was headed towards the tower. Be careful Amaya, it might be dangerous.”

Dangerous? What does she mean? Amaya thanked her and ran towards the tower. When she got there Yugi met her at the door.

“What are you doing here? Is the duel over?”

“No, Téa is in trouble, we have to help her.” 

How does he know that? What’s going on? Amaya was confused, and a little bit scared, but she went with him to help Téa. When they got there, Marik was standing and Téa was on the ground. Yugi went right over to Marik. Amaya ran over to Téa to see if she was okay. Marik walked away and Yugi came over to help Téa up.

Ishizu showed up and told them that Marik’s good side still lived inside Téa’s mind. She begged The Pharaoh to defeat her brother’s dark side so he could be free. He promised he would. Téa woke up and they decided to hurry and try and catch the end of Joey’s duel. By the time they got there, it was too late. Joey had lost.

Yugi and Marik were about to start their duel when Kiba and Mokuba showed up. Kiba gave Yugi a card that could help him defeat Ra and then the duel started. Marik turned it into a shadow game. This time when either player lost life points, their other halves lost a piece of their souls. Amaya and the rest of the gang watched in horror as Yugi and Marik’s bodies disappeared piece by piece. 

Marik’s dark side became so powerful; Amaya thought there was a chance Yugi might loose. Odion came staggering into the arena and that gave Marik’s good side enough strength to switch places with this dark side so when Yugi attacked, it was Marik’s dark side that was destroyed. 

As soon as the shadows lifted, Amaya knew Marik was free of his dark side forever. She felt so much joy for him. She watched Yugi and wondered if that would work for Syrin. Then she shook her head. It would never work for him. It only worked this time because Marik wanted something from Yugi. Syrin only wants me. 

“If you want a ride home, you better get on board that blimp because in one hour this island is going to be blown up.” Kiba informed everyone. 

The gang hoped aboard. Kiba and Mokuba took one of Kiba’s Blue Eye’s White Dragon jets.

On the ride home, Amaya told her friends about her plans to leave.

“You don’t have to leave.” They argued.

“Yeah,” Yugi added, “you saw how I defeated Marik’s dark side, I’m sure I could do that for you too.”

Amaya shook her head and explained that she already thought of that. “I was surprised that he stayed for the duel the first time we tried that, I’m sure he’d bail if we tried it again.”

The gang tried to convince Amaya to stay, but Amaya knew she had to keep moving. They decided they would all go and camp out for a night to get away from everything and to hang out with Amaya one last time.


End file.
